Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Voßstraße 4, D-69115, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2017 Dec;11(6):1592-1603. doi: 10.1007/s11682-016-9618-2.
Impulsivity is associated with distinct mental disorders but is also considered as a personality trait exhibited by healthy individuals. Current studies suggest that early stressful life events might cause higher impulsivity in the adulthood. Morphological features, which reflect early brain development, could provide valuable information regarding the origin of impulsive behavior. However, none of the previous MRI studies employed a methodology specifically designed to investigate the relationship between impulsivity and markers of brain development. In this regard, we aimed to investigate the relationship between cortical folding and the three distinct factors of impulsivity (attention, motor, and non-planning) in young healthy adults. Fifty-four right-handed healthy individuals were recruited for the study and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 3 Tesla. A surface-based analysis was used to calculate a local gyrification index (LGI). Impulsivity was examined by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and related to LGI. Associations between LGI and BIS-11 scores were assessed using within-group correlations (p < 0.05, "cluster-wise probability" [CWP] corr.). BIS subscores were positively correlated with cortical folding in several distinct areas: Total and attention scores were positively correlated with LGI in the left postcentral gyrus, cingulate gyrus, precentral gyrus, pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, superior parietal gyrus, pericalcarine gyrus, and lateral occipital gyrus (each p < 0.05 CWP corr.). BIS motor score was positively correlated with LGI in the left superior temporal, lingual and supramarginal gyrus (each p < 0.05 CWP corr.). BIS non-planning score showed a positive correlation with LGI in the pars opercularis of the right inferior frontal gyrus and the left middle temporal, precentral and superior parietal gyrus (each p < 0.05 CWP corr.). Furthermore, we found gender-specific differences in BIS-11-LGI-correlation in the middle and inferior frontal gyrus. Our findings illustrate the advantages of cortical folding as a marker of early brain development when investigating structural brain correlates of impulsivity in young adulthood. Further, they lend additional support to the notion that alterations in early neurodevelopment comprising fronto-temporo-parietal regions might give rise to higher impulsivity in healthy individuals.
冲动与不同的精神障碍有关，但也被认为是健康个体表现出的一种人格特质。目前的研究表明，早期的生活压力事件可能会导致成年后更高的冲动性。反映早期大脑发育的形态特征可以为冲动行为的起源提供有价值的信息。然而，之前的磁共振成像研究都没有采用专门设计的方法来研究冲动性和大脑发育标志物之间的关系。在这方面，我们旨在研究皮质折叠与年轻健康成年人冲动性的三个不同因素（注意、运动和非计划）之间的关系。招募了 54 名右利手的健康个体进行研究，并在 3T 磁共振成像仪上进行了检查。采用基于表面的分析方法计算局部脑回指数（LGI）。使用巴瑞特冲动量表（BIS-11）来检查冲动性，并将其与 LGI 相关联。使用组内相关性（p<0.05，“簇级概率”[CWP] corr.）评估 LGI 和 BIS-11 评分之间的相关性。BIS 子评分与几个不同区域的皮质折叠呈正相关：总评分和注意评分与左中央后回、扣带回、中央前回、额下回的眶部、右颞中回、顶上回、距状回和外侧枕叶的 LGI 呈正相关（每个 p<0.05 CWP corr.）。BIS 运动评分与左颞上、舌回和缘上回的 LGI 呈正相关（每个 p<0.05 CWP corr.）。BIS 非计划评分与右额下回眶部和左颞中回、中央前回和顶上回的 LGI 呈正相关（每个 p<0.05 CWP corr.）。此外，我们发现 BIS-11-LGI 相关性在中、下额回存在性别特异性差异。我们的研究结果表明，皮质折叠作为早期大脑发育的标志物，在研究年轻成年人冲动性的大脑结构相关性方面具有优势。此外，它们进一步支持了这样一种观点，即包含额颞顶叶区域的早期神经发育改变可能导致健康个体更高的冲动性。
